Antonio Rangel

Antonio Rangel Ojeda (27 October 1943 - 22 December 2004) was a Mexican Badminton player that competed in the different categories of singles, doubles and mixed doubles, both nationally and internationally.

His father, Dr Raúl Rangel Romero was a dentist that taught his two children about the importance and benefits of practising sports, while his mother Luz Ojeda Lacroix was a school teacher. Antonio started playing badminton when he was about ten years old, together with his older brother Raúl, at the Centro Deportivo Chapultepec AC.

In 1965, Antonio Rangel surprised everybody when he extended to three games his match against Erland Kops in the third round of the US Open; fundamentally, because in such year, the Danish player - then ranked as the number one of the World - had been beating his opponents in only two games.

In 1968, Antonio Rangel graduated from the School of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and, one year later, the 13th December 1969, he got married to Flor Lujan; they had four children: Antonio, Flor, David and Jorge.

Since Antonio Rangel got married, he concentrated all his energy to his family and his professional career and he practically retired from the badminton competitions.

In 1958, when he was just 14 years old, Antonio Rangel became the national champion of Mexico for the first time, competing in the doubles category, together with his brother Raul Rangel. By 1967, he had already won 23 Mexican National Championships. In 1966, he won 2 more titles in the Mexican Open of Badminton as a singles player and in the doubles category, teaming up with his brother Raul Rangel.

The Mexico City International Tournament was held in the years 1949, 1952, 1958, 1959 and 1961. Since 1964, this competition became known as the National Mexican Open.

Antonio Rangel competed in the Mexico City International Tournaments of 1959 and 1961, as well as in the Mexican National Open from 1964 to 1968 where he played against World class players such as Erland Kops, Channarong Ratanaseangsuang, Jamie Paulson, Don Paup and Bill Berry, among others.

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